Ep. 39: Olya Kovnatska - Mentoring the IMA Way

IMA's website: https://www.imanet.org/
IMA's Leadership Academy:
https://www.imanet.org/career-resources/leadership-academy
Mentoring with IMA:
https://mynetwork.imanet.org/mentoring/mentoring


FULL EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
Mitch: (00:00)


Welcome back to count me in. IMA's a podcast about all things
affecting the accounting and finance world. I'm your host Mitch
Roshong with me is my co host Adam Larson and we are happy to
bring you episode 39 of our podcast series. Most management
accountants can relate to the benefits of having a mentor. So to
kick off the new year, we have an episode dedicated to
mentoring. 


 


Adam: (00:28)


To start us off, we're going to hear from Olya, manager of
financial planning and analysis at United rentals in Stanford,
Connecticut. She is going to talk us through the benefits of
mentoring for a mentee for the mentor and how to develop a
mentoring relationship. Also, during this episode we're going to
jump to a couple of personal stories from different finance
individuals who have realized the benefit of having a mentor. So
without further ado, let's listen to our conversation on
mentoring. 


 


Mitch: (00:55)


In your opinion, what are the benefits of mentoring? 


 


Olya: (01:04)


In the recent years, so much has been said and written about the
benefits of mentoring from both the mentee and mentor. Not
surprisingly, mentoring has become increasingly popular among
successful organizations. In fact more than 70% of fortune 500
companies use mentoring to attract, develop and retain talent as
well as increase productivity and that they interest in. The fact
is that mentoring has also been credited with helping entire
organizations cultivate the culture of innovation and
inclusion. 


 


Adam: (01:38)


How so? What are the overall benefits of a mentoring relationship
say for the mentee first? 


 


Olya: (01:43)


There are numerous benefits that mentoring provides for the
mentee. Whether you even start by working with the mentor, the
mentee receives personalized education that is tailored to their
specific needs. Who would then throw on that? For example, when I
was initially looking for a mentor, well I wanted was to find
someone who could help me improve my public speaking skills. I'd
lay the land my needs, you will. Beyond that, my mentor and I
developed the new plan. The next benefit is that mentors also
provide mentees with the advice and guidance they need to help
them define and set realistic career goals as well as develop
strategies on how to achieve them. They also hold them
accountable for the results, which I believe is the key to
success 


 


Adam: (02:34)


And as a mentee, how important is it to select the right mentor
to reap these benefits? 


 


Olya: (02:41)


The right mentor will encourage you to take calculated risks
which ultimately increases both your leadership capabilities and
opportunities for advancement. At the same time, they could also
save you from making mistakes that could set your career back.
When I was looking for a way to enhance my leadership skills so I
could prepare myself for the next role. My mentor suggested that
they joined the board of a nonprofit organization. I followed his
advice and after receiving my CMA certificate nation, I got
involved with my local IMA chapter. There I gained valuable
experiences and skills mutually the arm I was able to apply at
work. 


 


Mitch: (03:28)


To reinforce all your summary of the benefits for a mentee in a
mentoring relationship. We are now going to hear from Anthony
Sperduti, manager of financial planning and analysis at United
rentals as he shares a story about the impact mentoring had on
him in his career. 


 


Anthony: (03:42)


Early in my career I faced a difficult situation and that's when
I learned the benefits of having a mentor. When I was a second
year staff at the CPA firm I used to work for, I made a pretty
significant error on one of our audit procedures. We had just
finished field work and the error would require going back out to
the client and re-performing the audit test. I can remember the
unsettling feeling of having to go to the principal on the
account worrying how he would take it instead of chastising me or
yelling at me over it. He told me, as long as you worked for me,
it'll never be your fault. I reviewed the work too. We both
missed it. That was a really important lesson for me. Mistakes
happen, but instead of making me feel worse about it, the
principal helped me learn from the experience, understand how the
mistake happened, fix it and re instill the confidence I needed
to tackle my next job. From that moment on, I sought this
person's guidance throughout my career and still do to this day.
Despite no longer working together, I attribute much of the
success I've had professionally does mentorship and hope to
emulate the impact he had on me to other young professionals to
help them advance in their careers. 


 


Adam: (04:57)


So before we transition over to the mentor side, do you have any
other comments on the benefits of mentoring for a mentee? 


 


Olya: (05:06)


This podcast is not long enough to list all benefits for the
mentees. I could go on and on, but if I reflect on my personal
experience, I think the most valuable benefit of mentoring is
that it provides a positive, but at the same time challenge and
the growth environment with mentee can improve their skills and
build confidence necessary for their future success. 


 


Mitch: (05:31)


Okay. So now in your opinion, what are the benefits of a mentor
and relationship for the mentor? 


 


Olya: (05:37)


That's a really good question because I think the benefits for
the mentor are often overlooked. A common misperception is that
the mentee is the primary and sometimes the only beneficiary from
the mentoring relationship, which is not necessarily true. I read
and heard multiple testimonials when mentors side just how
rewarding their mentoring experience has been and how much
satisfaction they received when they give back to their
organization and the profession they love. They also highlight
that helping others grow and develop by sharing their knowledge,
insights and expertise has made them by their leaders as well
which in turn enhance their but you need just for advancement by
being the mentor. They also earn the respect from their
colleagues and prestige at their organizations. It's not a secret
that the leaders who can develop other leaders are highly valued
and sought after and that the benefit that I'd like to pinpoint
is that mentors can also learn from them into use so they can
stay current with the most recent trends. That's why the concept
of reverse mentoring has been gaining popularity when younger
employees appear this season. Executives usually to teach them
about new technologies and products. As you can see, there is
something in mentoring for everyone. 


 


Adam: (07:04)


We are now going to turn our attention to Tatyana Corban, CPA
and...